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corrupt magicians. Tommo, a runaway spellgrinder's apprentice, has eight days in which to leave his land, or be hanged. Advised by flocks of birds with human faces, assisted by the sulky fisher-girl Akenna, he has no idea of the struggles between adults higher on the food chain. The evil Protector wants to stamp out all magic, and imprisons and tortures those born with it.
Browne's themes, which she returns to in each of her novels, are about how we come to recognise our true selves. The dying Tommo's agonised travels across a treacherous land are matched by the minute, passionate struggles of Vevena, the Protector's enchanted wife, to regain control over her own mind and heart. Tommo and Akenna have inborn powers that they can discover only in adversity, but as we gradually discover who (and what) they are, the story moves towards a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.
Ynonne Coppard
Carousel
Spellstones are the magical force used to bind and
oppress the island where Tommo and Akenna live.
Tommo is an apprentice spellgrinder, responsible
for harnessing the magic of the stones; but the
stone-grinding has such devastating effects on
their bodies that, ultimately, all spellgrinders forfeit
their lives. Arkenna's existence with her violently
abusive father is just as miserable. Thrown together
by circumstance, the pair form an alliance, each
unaware of the hidden powers they both have. Their
skills will be needed, however, in the traditional
battle of good against evil that is the stuff of such
stories. The plot is dark, gritty and compelling and
the characters draw you in to a story that keeps you
wondering how it will all turn out in the end.
US Reviews of Silverboy (The Spellgrinder's Apprentice)
VOYA
This entrancing fantasy follows the escape journey of Tommo, an apprentice in the spellstone grinding trade, and his unlikely ally, an abused but feisty fisherman's daughter. The stones have magical power for those who know how to wield them but spell early death for the apprentices who work with them. Using the power of the spellstones, Fallon, the tyrannical Protector of the realm, has forbidden all use of natural magic and brutally exterminated its practitioners. In keeping with the genre, the story makes use of dualities such as spirit and earth, light and dark, natural and unnatural supernatural powers, etc., yet the characters are complex and neither completely good nor evil. The setting is a timeless pre-industrial past in a harsh barren land near the sea. The writing style is characteristically tinged with archaic phrases such as "got with child" for pregnancy. The many cryptic neologisms also typical of the genre may interfere with the enjoyment of less persistent readers but foster the feeling of otherworldliness. Despite this adherence to the conventions, the writing is so fresh and evocative the reader is immediately drawn in to sympathize with this unlucky hero. For example, in a scene in which Tommo first tastes freedom and salt air after many years confined to his cellar, he "let the breeze and brine take his breath away and blast him clean" (p. 33). The book also explores the ways of power, of both the elite and the cowardly, as when the craven Kalen muses that "the respect of the likes of Fallon and Haver-snatcher was something to be avoided" (p. 213). Fallon wields power by mastering intelligence through a network of spies, kept loyal by manipulating their fears andself-interests. Women characters also exert influence though confined to traditional roles as homemakers and witches. Even Vevena, the "ensorcelled" damsel in distress and wife of the Protector, finds the force of will to break out of her enchantment. Complex, sympathetic characters and a suspenseful plot make Silverboy a quite satisfying read.
School Library Journal
Claiming the right of sanctuary, escaped spellgrinder's apprentice Tommo has eight days to find his way to safety. But it is difficult to be inconspicuous with his telltale white hair and silvery skin, the result of years spent grinding the spellstones that keep the Isle of the Gifted enthralled to the cruel, self-styled Protector Fallon. Two things give Tommo hope: sharp-tongued Akenna, whom he meets on the road and who is a runaway from her abusive father; and the odd birds with human faces that bring messages as they flee. The birds lead Tommo and Akenna to Fallon's fortress, where they learn that each bird contains part of the spirit of revered High Priest Galdea, long believed dead but instead imprisoned by the Protector. Aided by Fallon's wife Vevena, whom Tommo releases from the enchantment that kept her in an unhappy marriage, the two must claim their hitherto-unknown magical ability and reassemble Galdea's spirit to restore peace and harmony to the Isle. This book starts strongly. Tommo and Akenna are appealing characters, and the birds are an intriguing device. In the second half, however, the novel loses its way as it rushes toward its end. There are too many characters whose motives are too complicated. The happy ending is abrupt. The author would have done better to take her time and write a more leisurely book to allow development of these plot threads. Nevertheless undemanding fantasy fans will enjoy Tommo's story.
Cheri Dobbs
Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Gr 6 & Up - After watching his friend die of the "quivers," a disease caused by spellstone dust, Tommo, a spellgrinder's apprentice, runs away from his forced servitude at the first opportunity. Having gone without food or water for several days, he is near death when he is saved by Akenna, a girl with her own troubles. She agrees to help him escape, but they have to contend with her brutal father and Tommo's own case of the "quivers." Unbeknownst to Tommo, he is displaying some thaumaturgical powers, which makes him dangerous to the Protector. Using spellstone magic, the Protector has had most of his enemies killed and his wife ensorcelled to ensure control of the land and of thaumaturgy. When Akenna also begins displaying powers, the teens think that maybe their destiny is to help overcome the Protector's hold on their country. After trials and adventures, the two are instrumental in restoring the balance of power, and everyone realizes that it would be unethical to continue to use spellstones for magic. The characters are largely archetypes who follow the expected courses of action, and most of them just aren't that exciting. The most interesting person is the Protector's wife, and readers will become engrossed in her struggle to regain her identity and freedom. The author's writing is fluid and includes high-level vocabulary, but the story development is somewhat choppy. Insatiable fantasy fans will read this, but it may not attract many others.
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Kirkus Reviews
This compelling magical adventure rises above its many flaws. Fifteen-year-old Tommo is an escaped spellgrinder's apprentice, and like all boys of his profession, he is dying. Ground spellstone dust has given his skin an eerie blue glow, and has afflicted him with the quivers, a degenerative illness that will soon lead to an unpleasant death. Nevertheless, he's determined to end his days in freedom. On the run from the hangman, he falls in with Akenna, a foul-mouthed fisher girl fleeing her abusive father. All the teens want is sanctuary, but they won't be able to find safety unless they rescue their nation from the cruel usurper of the throne. For some reason, he thinks Tommo and Akenna are a danger to him. The complexities of world-building are too extensive for this brief tale and require an excess of exposition, but are nevertheless cleverly original. Inexpert prose and a rushed conclusion detract, but overall, Tommo's story is both intriguing and worthwhile. (Fantasy. 12-14)
Cindy Welch
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books vol 60
Sentenced to a hazardous apprenticeship in a spellstone grinder's
dreary basement, Tommo escapes, claiming sanctuary to avoid being
returned to that lethal place, and he is given ten days to vacate the
province or be hunted down and killed. During his run for freedom he
meets Akenna, a fisherman's daughter, and the two of them find
themselves at the nexus of a plot involving everyone from the
Protector,
highest power in the land, to a peculiar flock of birds that all have
the same human face and that follow Tommo and Akenna wherever they go. The Protector is troubled by a prophecy that an agent of the greatest
thaumaturge (magician) that ever lived will cause his downfall, so he
has arranged for the deaths of all the major thaumaturges except for
the
best of them all, Gildea, whom he has caged in his Fortress of Winter.
Tommo and Akenna have powers of their own, undiscovered and untried
though they are, and they must draw upon those powers as they travel
into danger and lead their unusual flock into the Protector's hands.
Browne is adept at creating characters that trigger reader sympathies
and express believable relationships, in particular fragile
spellstone-contaminated Tommo and ensorcelled Vevena, who must fight
descents into frivolity any time she thinks of matters of substance.
There are also intriguing plot elements, such as the Gildea-faced birds
that each carry a fragment of the sorcerer's soul, and pleasing
surprises in the hidden familial relationships only made clear near the
conclusion of the tale. Readers will appreciate Akenna's toughness and
Tommo's sweetness, and they will be glad to share the protagonists'
journey.
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